Curriculum

Academic Malpractice 

Last week’s Especean article addressed the publication of Year 7 - Year 11 Assessment Handbooks, which will be uploaded to CANVAS Year Group pages by the end of the week. Each handbook contains the College’s Assessment Policy, as written for each specific year group. A key component of the policy relates to the issue of academic malpractice. This can be defined as activity undertaken by students that allows them to gain an unfair advantage over others. This may include but is not limited to:  

• submitting work to which another person such as, a parent, coach or subject expert has substantially contributed to. 
• paying someone to write or prepare material. 
• breaching school examination rules. 
• using non-approved aids during an assessment task. 
• contriving false explanations to explain work not handed in by the due date. 
• assisting another student to gain an unfair advantage. 

A quickly evolving issue and current area of concern relating to academic malpractice comes in the rapid advancement, and ease of access to Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. Educators now operate in a space where, in a matter of moments a student can use AI to formulate, write and present highly detailed written responses.   

At its core, the use of AI technology is an act of plagiarism, a form of academic malpractice that is defined as, the act of presenting the words and work of others as one’s own, including one’s own previous work. Plagiarism invariably leads to a zero mark. However, the sophistication built in AI technologies can make it harder for institutions to differentiate between an AI generated response and a student’s own words.  

In response the College has updated its definition of plagiarism to now include, the use and submission of material wholly or partially generated through the aid of artificial intelligence (AI). If a scenario occurs where a teacher suspects the submitted work was generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and the work is not commensurate with a student’s general pattern of demonstrated achievement, the Head of Faculty may request the student complete a viva voce (discussion, oral response to a question). In this instance, questions directed to the student will reflect content presented in the student submission and aligned to the marking criteria. A final mark for the assessment will reflect the quality and depth of student knowledge, presented through the viva voce.   

The problem for some school students is not one of a deliberate intent to ‘cheat’, but one of ignorance; of not being appropriately informed and skilled in the techniques of acknowledging and building upon the work of others within the framework of their own efforts; of not recognising and differentiating between reporting research and plagiarism. 

The College goes to great lengths to inform students of its scholastic expectations through extensive dissemination of assessment documentation; access to resources in the McGlade Library; online resources via CANVAS; online assignment submission via Turnitin (pages 52 of the College Diary); and during Year 10, implementation of the All My Own Work program, publicly available on the NESA website. 

In particular, Years 11 and 12 represent a giant leap in the expectations, standards and source requirements associated with assessment tasks in the Higher School Certificate course. In fact, schools are now required to report instances of malpractice in HSC assessment to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) which may have implications for university entry.  

Ignorance, innocent or otherwise, is never taken as a legitimate excuse. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the words and work of others, including the student’s previous work, have been appropriately acknowledged in their own work. 

As always, students are advised to consult with their teachers if they are unsure of whether elements of their work will constitute plagiarism, or any other form of malpractice as outlined in the College’s Assessment Policy, available within the Assessment Handbook. 

Nicholas Phillipson

Acting Director of Curriculum

In the Religious Education Curriculum…

We started the year here at St Patrick’s with an interesting array of engaging topics in the Religious Education Faculty. Year 7 have started their unit on Sacred Scripture, where they are exploring the structure of the Bible along with its principal themes. They are utilising their Bibles as they become confident users in exploring a range of scripture passages that reveals God’s loving relationship with each and every one of us. 

Year 8 have started their first unit of work called Jesus as a Model of Living which is a combination of The Teachings of Jesus and Alive in Christ. This unit of work explores the loving relationship with God and humanity through the lens of Jesus’ teaching and lived example. 

Furthermore, Year 9 have started their topic on The Search for Meaning where students are learning about how to express their inherent desire to know God through knowledge and meaning and faith and reason in order to uncover the truths of life. 

Year 10 students are beginning to learn about the Church’s mission, significant people, movements and events that have shaped the Church throughout history, and the way in which the Church lives out its mission in the world today. This is being done through the topic The Church: Tradition, Challenge and Change.

We have an incredible Religious Education team this year at St Patrick’s College, and we look forward to working with your son/s in developing their understanding of Catholic social teachings. 

Jasmine Porter

Head of Religious Education

2023 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)

From this year, ACARA has moved NAPLAN from May to March. The online tests will run over a testing window of nine days commencing Wednesday 15 March and concluding Monday 27 March to allow students an opportunity to sit missed scheduled tests within the testing window. In general, for our students, NAPLAN will occur on the following days:

The tests will ensure national consistency in benchmarking Literacy and Numeracy standards across all Australian educational jurisdictions. 

With four weeks to the tests, parents/carers and boys of Years 5, 7 and 9 are encouraged to visit the NAPLAN site at: https://www.nap.edu.au/. Sample test items, marking criteria and marking guides are available as are past tests. 

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) has advised that the genre for the 2023 writing test will not be disclosed prior to the test period. In 2023, as in previous years, the writing test will be a single common task for all students. Students will be required to respond to either a narrative or a persuasive prompt. Therefore, boys from Years 5, 7 and 9, ought to practise and familiarise themselves with both the persuasive and narrative styles of writing. To understand more about the writing test, visit the NAPLAN site at: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/writing. 

Teachers will do some revision with students in class to expose them to test questions and the overall test format. Students should begin now to prepare for NAPLAN and parents/carers are encouraged to work with their son/s at home. The more practice items the boys do, the better prepared and more confident they will feel during the NAPLAN test days.

Denise Lombardo

Director of Learning and Innovation

Getting the most out of your Mathematics Textbook, a guide for parents and carers of boys in Year 7-10

A copy of the presentation from Monday 13 February can be found on the Parent Lounge.

To find the file, please go to:Parent Lounge portal > Top Menu > Links > Guides/How To’s > Getting the Most Out of Mathematics Textbooks.

If you need help with the Cambridge online textbook, please contact your son’s class teacher.

Hannah Smith

Mathematics Teacher